Thousands march in Chicago to protest violence in Gaza Strip

Share Update:

Thousands of pro-Palestinian supporters marched through downtown Chicago this afternoon calling for an end to an Israeli ground assault on the Gaza Strip.

Waving Palestinian flags, holding posters and shouting into bullhorns, more than 2500 people flooded the streets of downtown to show their support for the Palestinians who’ve died and the thousands of others who are still in danger.

Protestors laid down the concrete to represent the hundreds of Palestinians that have been killed since tensions between Israel and Hamas controlled Gaza began.

A number of different groups joined the Palestinians as they marched to the Israeli consulate, including Jewish organizations.

Israel’s Deputy Consul General says the Israel army does not target families and even warns people in cities to leave before the bombing begins. He also says Hamas, a group they and the U.S. deem a terrorist organization, use civilians as human shields to guard their weapons. He also says two Israeli civilians have been killed as well as more than a dozen soldiers.

There will be another rally in front of the Israel consultant on Tuesday, this time it will be for those supporting Israel.

70 comments

Yarmouk and Jarabulus are in Syria. Where are the protests?
Highlights:
“In fact, many in that country are decrying the lack of attention to their plight and the fact that images and videos often go viral only when they are falsely presented as being from Gaza.”
“It must be so awkward having to check whether the dead child is from Gaza or Syria before deciding whether to be morally outraged.”
“All civilian deaths are tragic. Moreover, such figures tell us nothing about the moral standing of the warring parties, especially not in the case of the asymmetric warfare that Hamas is waging. After all, the United States lost about 450,000 lives fighting in World War II while the Nazis lost over seven million, yet I would wager that none of you think the Nazis held the moral high ground. At least I hope so.”
“What these figures do show is that while all war contains tragedy, including the one in Gaza and Israel, only deaths connected to Jews seem to evoke the cries we have been hearing over the number of dead in Gaza, which pales in comparison to other conflicts and is largely due to Hamas’ grotesque tactics.”http://jonathanmessing.com/2014/07/22/massacre-in-yarmouk/

SemperFi

bro, i’ve gotta do some things. But i’ll be sure to continue this conversation, if you wanna call it that, with you later. I am allowed to speak freely to you right? Gee but am i glad this is an internet site, else you’d have me arrested for war crimes, terrorism, being anti semitic, i mean, those quotes, even though they were said by israeli heads of power, by me pasting what they said – i’m being anti semitic. By speaking the truth, one is being anti semitic. Because it doesn’t matter what the zionist does, exposing the truth of what he does, is slapped with anti semitism. By the reporters reporting what’s happening, & the women & children being murdered, those reporters, journalists, are being anti semitic right!? Haha. Right… That anti semitic card always works doesn’t it bro… You have a good day. L8a…

Yarmouk (in Syria) was home to the largest Palestinian refugee community in the country before the conflict in Syria began. 180,000 Palestinian civilians called it home. Now only 20,000 remain. Food and medical supplies are routinely denied entry and starvation is one of the three main causes of death.

Where are your copy/paste quotes from the murderers of those 160,00 Palestinians? Where is your concern for their starvation? Where were the weapon stashes in Yarmouk? Were the Palestinians there shooting rockets at Syria? Is there any reason that can be ascribed to why Syria killed them but it not being demonized by Pro-Palestinians for having committed this massacre? Oh, right, the Syrians aren’t Jews, so it can be ignored. A few hundred Palestinians who are killed after sending thousands of rockets into Israel. Now that’s a horse of a different color.

SemperFi

israel needs to defend itself against whom? Palestine? Really bro? The only aggressor in the middle east is israel bro. Tell me, who exactly has tried to harm israel over these last years? You’ve got the 3rd or 4th mightiest military in the world. Britain helps you, america helps you. Ironically they’re both measured as the other military mights. You’re clutching at straws bro. You put out this misnomer that there is this rocket threat from hamas. Yet not one rocket has been launched from hamas. not one of these so called rockets have hit any israeli targets. Why? Because none were launched.

SemperFi

JB

SemperFi. You are one of the few that make the rest of us embarrassed to wear the Eagle Globe and Anchor. The UN is the organization that reported the rockets in their schools and gave them back to Hamas (ironically it could be one of those rockets that hit the school). The tunnels exist and have been shown to international groups as evidence of how Hamas has used humanitarian supplies to buildup their war chest instead of for the intended purposes of improving infrastructure and assisting the Palestinian people.
The use of the words “all” “always” and “never” pretty much prove that you don’t have the facts correct. “All” deaths are not civilians is just one example of how you paint an incorrect picture of reality on the ground.
In regards to your example of throwing rocks and being met with an army… the rockets that Hamas admittedly (not false accusations) fire into Israel are as real and as dangerous as the ones fired at them. I’ll use a better example. If you have a gun and try to kill me, it isn’t my fault if you fire at me and miss me six, sixty, or six hundred times. I’m still going to fire center-mass and kill you. Now you can surround yourself with your family but I’m a good shot and will try not to harm them, but if they are injured in the process, their blood is on your hands. Not because you are a bad shot and can’t hit me, but because you tried to kill me 1st and instead of fighting like a man you hid behind those more vulnerable. There is an American word for that and its called cowardice. Its also immoral.

SemperFi

you built a wall in palestine. That wall is an enclave built to keep out ppl from gaza from the rest of palestine. Like lining off cattle. There, you stay just there. Wtf! You build walls in their land, to cut them off. It’s insane how much you get away with

SemperFi

& another thing, as long as there is an occupaton & siege on gaza, there’s no way there won’t be a resistance from its ppl. Imagine the ppl of gaza occupied israel, forced them into concentration camps, bull dozed their homes, bombed their schools, killed their kids, killed their mothers. What do you think will happen? They’ll just stand there hapless & allow themselves to be trampled upon? Ha ha. They won’t. They’ll storm the place with their military might & wipe them clean off the earth. But gaza doesn’t have this military might. Only israel has this kind of military might. & israel is using it to occupy a land by force & expects its citizens not to resist. I’m not gonna use that cliche example & say if you kick a dog continuously you can’t expect the dog not to show resistance because the palestinians are not dogs, i know you think they are & that’s why i won’t use that cliched example.

It’s been well publicized that israel has rejected the peace proposal. They’ve pulled their noses up at it. A ceasefire. Yet john kerry has told a different story, contradicting what’s been publicized. America coming to the aid of the arrogant israel again.

Of course they don’t want peace – they’re the aggressors.

They’re not the victims. They call the shots, & they take the shots. Pot shots at little babies, boys, & girls.

Every morning the palestinians’ are greeted by more & more mourning, a baby dead, a son, a daughter.

The civilians have run out of places to hide because israel have targeted all the safe havens.
They have nowhere to seek shelter anymore.

Jets fly over & the gaza strip & civilians are expected to lick shots. You’re wetting them up with profuse gunfire & then heinousley call hamas cowards.
Israel is targeting gaza safe havens so what does that make them, heroes? You betcha.
Israeli children view the butchers from their ”land” as national heroes.
That’s what they’re taught. Isn’t that hatred? I remembre a picture taken in israel of israeli children writing names of palestinian children on missiles with thick markers, & smiling whilst doing it.

So israeli children are taught from an early age already to hate.

Imagine the mindset of a child that gleefully shows satisfaction that children their age will become fodder.

I’ve never seen anything like it, anywhere else in the world.

But ppl like JB will condone actions like these & horrifically call resistance forces like hamas cowards. His american word for what they are, as he says.

The absurdity levels never ceases to amaze me.

It’s like a cascade of complete insanity that never ceases to spiral out of control.

You can never justify an occupation of any land, by force, by forced settlements – by showing support for the victimizer, like JB does – you’re doing exactly that. So what’s the motivation of someone like that? Islamophobia? Only that can explain it & be the cause for disregarding the humanitarian aspect because, obviously, palestinians are not human beings to ppl like this.
The gaza strip’s citizens are made up of christians too in case you ppl didn’t notice…

– While it is true that the US gives a lot of money to Israel, the money it gives barely covers a fifth of Israel’s military budget. Do you know why Israel has such a large military budget? I refer you to the map. Israel has been attacked non-stop since 1948 by enemies many times its size. Israel needs to defend itself and that costs money. Do you know how much each Iron Dome launch costs? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_states_with_nuclear_weapons What other country needs a system like this? No other country would allow its neighbors to continue to launch missiles at population centers without invading the attacking country and putting a stop to it. If Israel’s neighbors would just leave Israel alone, Israel would never invade another country. Why would it? It’s so tiny. It would be like Rhode Island attacking the rest of America. How ridiculous is that? And Israel has what it needs. The US maintains this special relationship with Israel because Israel is the only democracy in the region and the US recognizes how difficult it is to maintain a democracy in that corner of the world. While surrounding countries are busy doing honor killings, confining their women to burqas, marrying little girls to grown men, slaughtering Christians and gays, pulling down statues of Bhudda, etc. ad nauseum, Israel is developing scientific advancements, NOT doing any of those horrible things, and dancing the hora.